At UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, positioned at 6,894 ft above sea degree close to Donner Cross, researchers acquire detailed measurements of the snowpack every day.
There’s nonetheless some snow on the bottom to measure, however lower than they often see in late January.
The rationale: Extraordinary heat has been the norm throughout the West this winter. Many areas, from the Sierra Nevada to the Rocky Mountains, have skilled report or near-record excessive temperatures since November.
The result’s a snowpack far smaller than common for this time of yr in most elements of the mountains, particularly at decrease elevations.
“The story thus far on the lab has been that we’ve had a heat winter the place we’ve had loads of rain, not essentially as a lot snow as we’d hope,” stated Andrew Schwartz, the lab’s director.
A pole buried within the snow in Soda Springs, Calif., measures snow depth on Jan. 15.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Instances)
To this point this winter, the lab has recorded precipitation that measures 120% of common, however the heat temperatures have meant extra precipitation falling as rain relatively than snow.
As of Jan. 23, the snowpack on the lab stood at 61% of common for this time of yr, with about 2 ft of snow masking the bottom across the facility.
Different areas are faring worse. In elements of Utah, Colorado and different Western states, federal information present snow ranges at some places are at or close to report lows.
Throughout the Sierra Nevada, measurements present that California’s snowpack stands at 66% of common for this time of yr. There are regional variations, with the northern Sierra measuring 50% of common and the southern Sierra at 86% of common — boosted by above-average snowpack on a few of the excessive peaks.
There was little or no snow in low-elevation and mid-elevation areas this winter — a symptom of local weather change, as hotter temperatures push common snowlines larger.
“That’s the basic international warming mountain snowpack signature,” stated Daniel Swain, a local weather scientist with UC Agriculture and Pure Assets.
“If it’s 2, 3, 4, levels Fahrenheit hotter on common at present, which it’s in lots of of those locations, that now means on common you’re effectively on the mistaken aspect of the freezing line,” Swain stated. “You’re extra more likely to have rain relatively than snow.”
California’s snowpack has historically offered almost a 3rd of the state’s water provide, however the snowpack and runoff patterns are shifting as using fossil fuels and rising concentrations of greenhouse gases proceed to push international temperatures larger.
Skiers and snowboarders cross over snowless patches at Massive Bear Mountain Ski Resort in Massive Bear, Calif., in December.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Instances)
“All the pieces that’s under about six or 7,000 ft wherever within the West just isn’t doing effectively when it comes to snowpack as a result of it has been report heat,” Swain stated.
However when it comes to California’s total water provides, he stated, the state is in good condition this yr.
The state’s main reservoirs sit at 126% of their common ranges. Reservoirs rose over the past three years because of common or above-average quantities of snow in addition to rain.
Statewide precipitation has been effectively above common since October. In 2025, elements of Southern California skilled the wettest November and December on report.
No a part of California is at present experiencing drought circumstances, and even abnormally dry circumstances, in accordance with the U.S. Drought Monitor web site.
“From a water provide perspective, we’re doing simply fantastic, and we will likely be no matter what occurs the remainder of the winter,” Swain stated. “We are able to take a little bit of a breather, at the least from a drought perspective. This isn’t going to be a problematic yr in California.”
It’s a really completely different state of affairs, nevertheless, within the Rocky Mountains, the place snowmelt sustains the Colorado River.
Throughout a lot of the watershed, the snowpack this winter is “abysmal,” Swain stated, with some areas now having report or near-record low quantities of gathered snow.
The snowpack within the higher Colorado River area now measures 61% of common for this time of yr, in accordance with federal information, after the warmest November-December in 130 years of information.
That ranks among the many smallest accumulations of snow right now of yr in additional than a half-century of information, with solely 1981 having a considerably smaller snowpack, stated Jeff Lukas, an unbiased local weather researcher in Colorado.
Within the decrease Colorado River area, which contributes minimal runoff to the river, the snowpack is now a paltry 32% of common for this time of yr.
Massive fluctuations from moist to dry are a pure characteristic of water within the West. However within the final quarter-century, the Colorado River has misplaced about 20% of its movement, and analysis exhibits local weather change has intensified the lengthy stretch of largely dry years.
Analysis scientist Megan Mason speaks to college students at a Snow Science College program held by the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab in Truckee, Calif.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Instances)
The river supplies water for farms and cities throughout seven states, from Wyoming to California, in addition to northern Mexico. Its reservoirs have dropped dramatically as drought has continued and water use has outstripped the shrinking provide.
Negotiators for the seven states that depend on the Colorado River have been holding talks to attempt to agree on a long-term plan for chopping water use.
The meager snowpack might imply the lengthy drought within the Colorado River Basin intensifies once more this yr, Swain stated.
The climate might nonetheless flip round and produce extra snow in February and March, he stated. However primarily based on how far under common the snowpack stays within the Rocky Mountains, a full rebound appears most unlikely this yr.
